'Immediate Shutdown' Of Randall Avenue Bridge In Bristol Twp.

BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, PA —The Randall Avenue/Edgely Bridge has been closed indefinitely for safety reasons, township officials said Thursday.

"Due to immediate health, safety, and welfare concerns, the Randall Avenue/Edgely Bridge closes today to all vehicular traffic," Township Manager Randee Elton said in a press release.

The timeline for the length of the closure is currently unknown. The bridge was closed Thursday afternoon.

“The recent report of loose and falling concrete onto the Amtrak railway tracks is a very new issue and concern and is the reason why there is a need for an immediate shutdown of the bridge until we can determine if a temporary correction can be safely made,” Elton said.

Elton said that the average daily traffic over the bridge is about 400 cars per day with a cost to replace the bridge upwards of $25 million.

The township is in the process of discussing new bridge safety concerns with Amtrak. Once a plan of action is agreed upon, along with a timeline, township officials will provide an update.

The township is also working with PennDOT on an acceptable detour route and will provide that information once it is approved, Elton said.

Bristol Township has actively been seeking grant funds for the replacement of Randall
Avenue/Edgely Bridge for the past three years.

"With so many higher traffic volume bridges with structural deficiencies in this region, we presume that the low volume of traffic does not make this bridge have a high-scoring grant application,” Elton said.

Bristol Township was awarded a Multimodal Transportation Fund Grant (MTF) in December 2021 in the amount of $975,000.

The grant was awarded to fix the previously known Priority One Concerns: repair of the spalled concrete abutments adjacent to the bridge bearings at each corner.

The township will work with elected officials —Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, and state Rep. Tina Davis’s offices —on a new grant application for the replacement of the bridge using funds from the recently passed Infrastructure Bill.

The township did not receive any funding from the bill, making it necessary to submit the application, Elton said.